White Christmas

I LOVE Christmas :D

But today marks the last day of the 12 days of tea – BOOOO!

I couldn’t help but feel like Janet Jackson in her video for “Miss you much” where she smiles and dances the whole way through and as a finale she sweetly inquires “is that the end?” (Video link for those who want a little flashback http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVF0zcqr9Dg ) The 12 days of tea made me smile and dance (well, if you call spinning around in excitement waiting for the water to boil as dancing.) Thankfully, I have a bit of each tea left so I can relive them at least one more time – hooray!

Today’s tea was another nice balance of flavors on a black tea base. The candy cane mintiness is paired with the soft sweetness of marshmallow. Such a lovely and festive tea.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I’d love to know what the other flavors are in here, but I drank it this morning (with like, french toast meets a bloomin’ onion). I got the coolest hat ever from my boyfriend: http://instagram.com/p/Tqmfe-pa6P/

This is a bit like a candy cane tea to me…maybe with chocolate? Not sure if that’s the tea or a flavor. I was kind of hoping for candy cane white chocolate, aka the best combination ever, but maybe not. It’s pepperminty and creamy, but in that department I definitely have a favorite already there, so this would have to be REALLY AMAZING.

It’s good, but I’m still on the fence if I will get more of it. Maybe. It was really good this morning!

My tastebuds have been shot recently due to a nasty cold, but I’m finally feeling better which of course means it’s time to taste some new teas! I actually just got this yesterday along with Smaug, my second package from my tea of the week plan! Best Christmas present ever. The black base lends some almost cocoa qualities, but not overwhelmingly so. Definitely not going to be hard to finish off my pouch! I think it would actually be really fun to infuse some actual marshmallows with this blend.

52tea’s marshmallow blends are some of my favorite from them, along with their cotton candy ones. I dream of one day having a marshmallow cotton candy blend! And of course I love peppermint, so I knew this was going to be a winner before I even took the fist heavenly sniff. It smells like peppermint patties! The smell reminds me a lot of Della Terra’s Peppermint Bark and David’s Santa’s Secret, but this one definitely stands out among creamy peppermint blends. It doesn’t taste candy-like or artificial when you brew it, but the peppermint stays crisp and bright. It’s mellowed out a bit from the marshmallow, which has that same sweet fluffy quality I love in my beloved Kitten Tea.

12 Days of Christmas (52Teas) – Day 12

Could it be? I’m actually opening up a tea, consuming it, and writing a tasting note, all on the appropriate day? It only took me a full 12 days to do so!

When I first opened this tea and smelled it, it smelled like the grasshopper cookies. It definitely sounded intriguing. But when I brewed it.. I don’t know, the flavors just fell short for me. I get notes of mint, marshmallow, and even chocolate, but none of them are overpowering. Maybe I’m just so used to my mint teas being overpowering I expect them to? I think it’s also the base. Not really a fan of that, either. Not sure what it is because my black tea knowledge is limited.

52teas 12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2012 – Day 12

I’ve finally made it to the end of the sampler, and it’s a bittersweet achievement. This tea is already sold out, so this is my only chance to try it and hopefully enjoy it too. Let me just say two things to Frank up front: 1) What a gorgeous iconic Christmas label! I love it!, and 2) THANK YOU FOR USING PEPPERMINT (and not spearmint)!!!

The dry leaf aroma is peppermint candy wonderland! But the brewed tea aroma is kind of…weird, for lack of a better word. It’s pulling at something in my memory, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is. DAVIDsTEA Read My Lips maybe? While I wait for the tea to cool, I’m going to tell a quick short story.

My phone just rang. I answered, and it’s a recorded voice telling me I won a cruise. Press 1 to talk to someone and 2 to decline the offer and be removed from the call list. I pressed 1. I figured it’s probably not a free cruise in reality, but it’s worth a couple minutes of my time to find out. What happens next? I’m put on hold for about two minutes. And then…another recorded voice tells me that all representatives are busy assisting other customers and I should leave my name and number after the beep and they’ll call me back later…Are you kidding me?! YOU called ME you stupid people!!! Clearly, I didn’t win anything. What a pain. I’ve never heard of this type of scam before but it really annoys me.

Anyway, back to the tea. First sip sans additions was a pleasant surprise. After that weird aroma, I wasn’t too sure how this would turn out. But it’s a yummy peppermint-y dream! It has a nice creamy aspect to it and a natural tasting sweetness. It’s like drinking liquid peppermint candy!! Yum!

It really is a great cup of tea just the way it is. But I’m curious what a little Truvia and skim milk will to do it. Hopefully, I don’t ruin a great thing. As I suspected, it doesn’t change things for the better. Luckily, it didn’t necessarily make it worse either. More of that weird aroma makes it into the flavor as it cools. I prefer drinking it piping hot!

I’m not getting any chocolaty notes that others have. Quite frankly, the base is sort of elusive here. It’s covered by the cream and peppermint. This was a yummy experience all in all. The second cup was just as delicious as the first. :) But I’m not disappointed that I missed the chance to scoop up a bag. I’m happy with the amount in the sample.

I drink this Wednesday afternoon and even though it’s my first time logging it, it is not my first time drinking this. I believe it is my third. I remember the first two times this coming off like a creamy (from the marshmallow root) mint tea. Since I’m not the biggest mint fan, I thought this was a nicely done tea but wasn’t fond of it. This time however amp up the marshmallow/creaminess of it and liked it more. Think I may find myself reaching for this again soon.

Yes, I’m just getting around to trying this tonight. I’m behind on my 52Teas stash!

This is SO good. I love the combination of the marshmallow and peppermint with the black tea. The black tea is bold, moderately astringent, and deliciously rich, and I do taste the hint of chocolate to the black tea here. This is really delicious with the flavors of marshmallow and peppermint … and I think that Frank should make a blend now with marshmallow, peppermint and chocolate … just sayin’.

Totally yum!

My Christmas has been well under way with presents opened and having just washed my dinner dishes and I am definitely feeling the joy. I opened my final tea in the set once I had sat down and found to my delight that is was a brand new blend from Frank but with an added bonus of contains peppermint. Peppermint aid digestion and that is perfect post Christmas dinner.

I over steeped it by a minute more than I normally would as I was washing up after dinner and it took a little longer than expected. No sugar or milk in my tea this time and I only get one drink as I have the other to my husband. :)

It smells like peppermint raw and steeped so much so that even if I had not read it I would have still known it. It’s delicious just the way it is, sweet and minty with a slight cocoa background. It reminds me of candy canes :D

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

This is the end.. but the melody isn’t quite so dreary or final!

Day twelve: Have a wonderful day everyone!

It just started snowing here about an hour ago. I don’t think it will stick but still a very cool showing by the weather devas.

This is a very solid minty tea. It’s right up the ally of Cocomint Cream and Santa’s Secret in white peppermint creaminess. The body of the black leaves is full but if it’s not subtle enough add some milk- it makes it a super creamy coconut vanilla peppermint marshmallow.

I’m so sad to see this wonderful come to a close. Thank you for putting all of this together! There’s nothing quite as magical as being transported back to your childhood in the holidays. This twelve days of Christmas really did achieve that for me. This was my first impression of 52teas and it’s definitely won my heart in these last twelve days. :)

Peppermint Cream!! or at least that’s what I’m tasting right now :D I couldn’t wait for it to cool down so I may have burned my tongue a little… oh well this is quite yummy!

Sucked it up and tried this one tonight (oh no! It just occurred to me that although I opened the 11th tea, I neglected to drink any. Haha.)

Anyhow, I was rather disappointed in the 12th tea being minty and marshmallow, as that did not work well for me in Graveyard Mist. However, thankfully, this is infinitely more tolerable. First off, it’s peppermint, not spearmint, so no toothpaste association. Second, the black base is perfect here, and definitely lends a chocolatey sort of flavour. And although I usually dislike peppermint, the marshmallow root really rounds things out here, and softens the mint so I find it fairly pleasant.

So, not a bad blend to end off the 12 Days of Tea with!

(Mom tried this and thought the black base too astringent, and the mint a bit in-your-face. She much preferred the second infusion of Butiki’s Mint Oolong she was drinking at the time.)

Mild minty flavour. Savoury marshmallow taste in the background which both compliments the mint and ties the overall flavour together. I’m detecting a very faint savoury, creamy chocolate hint (possibly from the mixture of black tea and marshmallow).

It was with a touch of sadness that I opened up the last surprise pack from 52 Teas’ 12 Teas of Christmas to find this blend. I enjoyed a pot of this as I was making Christmas dinner with my Mom and I did savor the minty freshness of it. I am very sad that the fun of the 12 Teas of Christmas is over, but all good things must come to an end. I will be looking forward to next year’s countdown of teas all year!

-Dry blend is basic black tea leaves with pieces of green peppermint leaves and white marshmallow root.
-Dry blend smells strongly of peppermint. Tea liquor aroma is malty with a slight hint of mint.
-Tea liquor is a medium brown color.
-Heavy, malty flavor with a creamy mint finish. Marshmallow flavor more noticeable as tea cools.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Marshmallow adds a touch of creaminess to a standard minty black tea.

I was looking forward to finding out what the twelfth tea was going to be this year. Aaaand surprise – there’s more marshmallow!!! Good thing I like marshmallow. ;P

Adding the cool mint give the tea a flavour that makes me think of candy canes. I bet it would be great with milk too – next time. ;)

I’m bagged…tea bagged? lol yeah.. so tired. Massage tonight in rep for china, followed by dinner and board games with the other half as a “de stress and spend time together before you disappear for 2 weeks” kind of thing.

I had this in the afternoon…it reminds me of another tea that i can’t place at this precise moment. tasty but reminiscent of something..

Ooh lovely lovely! I knew this would be amazing as soon as I smelled it. Soft mint! Creamy sweet marshmallow! Black tea! I’m not big on minty teas but I like it when it’s subtle and done well. That’s the case for me in this one. It really is a perfect Christmas morning tea. I have loved all of Franks blends with marshmallow so far. Keep them coming, please! Adds such a yummy sweet creamy feel.

The taste of this blend reminds me of those peppermint drops that are made of white chocolate and come in pastel colours. Do those have a name? Hmm. Well this is like those candies in black tea form, and I am really enjoying this. Think I might grab a pouch when it comes available.

last day of december.
last sip of this tea.

This was a sample jessiwrites sent my way, to add to my awesome collection of samples she sends.

I really only like mint when I’ve got an upset stomach but the review jessiwrites wrote on this really intrigued me. So today I made a cup and actually ended up pouring it out – not because it was bad, because being in an envelope for a week with other teas had given it a very maple-y scent that made me feel nauseous.

However, once I got a chance to make a resteep the maple-y scent had worn off and I could actually smell the tea itself. Yum. I’m really impressed with the resteep – I actually have to keep reminding myself it is a resteep.

The black base works really well here and the mint is not overpowering at all thanks to the marshmallow root. The marshmallow root also gives this tea a subtle sweetness. This tea is really quite awesome, I’d actually consider keeping this in my cupboard, only that isn’t an option. Darn!

I took this to work with me today and finished the entire mug about fifteen minutes after I got to the office. So smooth and delicious. I love peppermint teas, and the addition of the marshmallow root makes this one extra creamy and delightful. It definitely tastes like Christmas, but I would enjoy this any time of year.

Once again, can’t have mint. So I gave this one to my mom. Here is what she had to say:

“It’s good, but it doesn’t have much going for it flavor wise besides the peppermint, so it’s a little plain. I feel like it needs an additional flavor to balance out the peppermint.”